The Daly Brief | Spurs vs Eintracht Frankfurt, UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

"Eintracht Frankfurt have lost two key stars in Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike over the past 12 months, so how have they coped this season? And what has changed since Spurs beat them back in April?"

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Why has there been a change in Eintracht Frankfurt's dugout?

Ten days ago, Eintracht Frankfurt parted ways with Dino Toppmöller, their head coach of two and half years, after a run of one win in seven Bundesliga games. The standard for what is expected at the club has changed dramatically over the past decade, with Frankfurt having gone from fighting relegation/promotion play-offs to claiming domestic and continental silverware while regularly challenging for top four. This season, 'Die Adler' (The Eagles) are eighth – within touching distance of the European places - but they’ve fallen down the league standings of late. The Champions League campaign has been a disappointment (more on that later), while no team has conceded more goals (42) in the Bundesliga. “We’re arguably in the most difficult period of the past four and a half years, but we’ll get out of this together,” explained board member for sport, Markus Krösche, ahead of this game. “The way we’ve been playing in recent weeks, including the results and the incredible number of goals we’ve conceded, obviously isn’t good enough for our fans.”

What has been Frankfurt's Champions League story this season?

Eintracht Frankfurt claimed a remarkable 5-1 opening league phase victory over Galatasaray - the perfect start after being handed a tough run of fixtures. However, they then suffered 5-1 defeats to Atletico and Liverpool, and while a goalless draw at Napoli was a good result on paper, losses to Atalanta, Barcelona and Qarabag followed after. It means they can’t qualify for the top 24, so would interim boss Dennis Schmitt be tempted to rotate? His side are already out of the Champions League, and have a big match against Bayer Leverkusen (just above them in the Bundesliga) at the weekend. However, they clearly need a lift – and you’d expect Frankfurt to go at full strength to try and earn a result and performance, in front of feverish home support, to turn around their fortunes.

How could they line up?

Eintracht Frankfurt have conceded three goals in every single match since returning from the winter break in Germany – that’s five played, 15 conceded. You may remember goalkeeper Kaua Santos, who made a series of superb saves in the 1-1 draw at Spurs last season, before fouling James Maddison in the second leg for the penalty that decided that Europa League quarter-final tie. Having lost his place in the team back in November, the Brazilian has since been restored – however, notable errors and one spilt cross leading to a goal versus Stuttgart this month, means Santos is in constant focus. In a 3-1 loss to Hoffenheim at the weekend, Schmitt used a 3-4-3 system – with ex-Leeds man Robin Koch at the heart of defence, Nathaniel Brown and Rasmus Kristensen the wing-backs, as we saw last season, as well as Elias Skhiri and Hugo Larsson in midfield again.

Why are Frankfurt short of forward options?

In terms of strikers, new signing Arnaud Kalimuendo has two goals in four games since joining from Nottingham Forest on loan, but he can’t play in the Champions League, while German international Jonathan Burkardt, their top scorer, is injured. Attacking midfielder Can Uzun played as a false nine against Qarabag last week, scoring and playing well between the lines – however he picked up a muscle injury at the weekend. “We’ll miss him - Can has extraordinary abilities,” explained Dennis Schmitt in his Tuesday press conference. While Ritsu Doan provides technical quality in those advanced midfield positions, and Ansgar Knauff is a major threat out wide – they’re lacking a central focal point. By January of last year, Omar Marmoush had 20 goals and 14 assists in just 26 games, earning him a move to Manchester City. Six months later, Hugo Ekitike joined Liverpool – scorer of 22 goals in 2024/25 for Frankfurt, a number that includes his sensational strike at Spurs in the Europa League. Despite all this, Schmitt is defiant about that his team can do in attack. “We can tweak things and become more unpredictable, but we’re not going to show our hand now. We’ll start with a lot of quality on Wednesday, and we’ll also have quality on the bench.”

Preview | Rob joins Ben and Clive for Frankfurt analysis